The Buses

Where to start with the buses...The buses that run from Guadalupe to San Jose and back are the ones I usually take.  They are usually about 275-300 colones (0.55 - 0.60 USD) per person, and once you're on, you can go for as long as you want. I thought I knew what a packed bus looked like more or less until I came to Costa Rica. Luckily I'm a good foot taller than most of the costarricences who ride along side me, so breathing is not a problem.  The bus drivers are a type of Tico I still struggle to understand.  The first night when I was extremely lost and didn't have a clue where I was going, I had one of the nicest bus drivers who helped me find my way.  However, going to work yesterday morning, while half-asleep, I handed the driver 300 colones instead of 325 colones, and you would have thought I robbed him.  Then there's the way they drive.  Sometimes, when I sit in the front of the bus and see how close we come to hitting people, I wonder if they actually TRY to hit pedestrians. I can't watch at times because we come so close to hitting motorcycles, cars, or other buses.  Then there's the getting on and getting off, which usually requires a rock climbing carabiner to get on and stay on.  The buses have designated stops where people should in theory enter and exit the bus, but sometimes with all the "presa" (traffic) people just hop on/off while the bus is moving.  Then there are these usually young boys who work at the bus stops to collect the earned change from the driver, and count how many people are on the bus.  Usually these boys get a free ride out of the job, or at least to the next few stops.  However, rather than climb the steps to get on the bus, they typically stand in the open doorway (the doors are almost always left open on these buses) and hang on with one arm while the driver proceeds to do 50 MPH down a windy street dodging in and out of traffic.  The most interesting experience I've had on the bus thus far has been the "vendedores ambulantes" (street sellers) who will at times seek permission from the bus driver to mount the bus and stay on for a ride.  Today, for example, first a man selling presumably homemade rosary beads came aboard.  They usually come onto the buses that are less populated so they can go up and down the aisles.  This man explained that he has 2 daughters at home, and no "plata" (credit/money), and this was his only way of earning money.  Dumbfounded, I watched as almost everyone on the bus took out their wallets and gave a few spare coins to this man as he walked up and down the aisle with his hand reached out.  I wondered how many people would pull out their wallets if this happened in the US.  Later on my bus journey, a deaf man with difficulty walking hopped on and asked the bus driver if he could stay on for free.  The bus driver obliged, and this man began to pass out scraps of paper to every person on the bus, all containing the same message.  Although it was poorly written in Spanish, the message was clear (translated):  "Please help me. May God bless you and your family."  I watched as again people got out their change to hand to the man. I followed suit, after taking my wallet from my bag in lieu of his paper message.  When he got to me, I gave him the change, but his hand was still outstretched inches from my nose. I didn't understand why until I noticed that he had recollected all the papers in his opposite hand.  I pulled the paper from my bag and returned it to him, after which he said "thank you" in sign language, and mouthed "God bless" in Spanish.  My last observation about the buses is their pollution.  Sometimes if I'm walking down one of the busier streets in San Jose, I can't see 10 feet in front of me if I've just passed an accelerating bus because of their thick, black smoke. My daily bus rides cease to amaze me, everyday I notice something different. I must admit I find them quite adventurous  and they're my favorite place for people-watching.

Additional thoughts about the buses:

• Watching people dig through bags of trash as the bus flies by, and nearly hits them is one of hardest things to watch.
• "Senior citizens" give their license, it's scanned, and they ride for free.  After it is scanned, their age and sex flash on a screen and stay there until the next license is scanned.
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